Hearts and minds at work is good for people and for business

We’re focused on bringing hearts and minds to work. But what does that really mean? Over the next month, we’ll prove that bringing hearts and minds to work is more than a 1:1 with your manager or a thank you from your CEO — and dig into what hearts and minds at work truly looks like.

To kick it off, here’s an interview with Limeade leader Dr. Laura Hamill on the research behind hearts and minds at work:

1. What is your role at Limeade?

I am the Chief People Officer and Chief Science Officer at Limeade. What that means is that I have the great honor of leading the People Team and helping to nurture our culture. In addition, I’m responsible for the Limeade Institute, where we’re focused on conducting research on well-being and employee engagement and using our findings to shape our product and how we work with our customers.

2. What makes you most excited about life when you wake up in the morning?

Is coffee an acceptable answer? No really (after my coffee), there is usually so much hustle and bustle in my house — with two teenagers getting ready for school, my dog ready for his breakfast and a commute in front of me, my mornings are really busy. It isn’t until I’m in the car and on the road that I have a second to think.

Usually what happens is about 20 minutes into my 45-minute commute, I start relaxing and start thinking about my day. At that point, one of my favorite songs comes on (usually something from Fleetwood Mac — I know I’m dating myself) and I have this real moment of joy. I start thinking about all the things that I’m grateful for and the cool place and people I get to work with…so I guess that’s a really long answer to say — a feeling of gratitude and appreciation for all the things I get to do every day.

3. Where do you draw inspiration or motivation from?

I actually get a lot of inspiration from nature. I’m lucky to live in a place with a ton of trees and privacy. It really does a lot to relax me and make me feel literally and figuratively grounded. On top of that, I get so much inspiration from the people I work with — every person has a story — with all kinds of different struggles and successes. Just getting to know them and how they approach their lives is a real inspiration to me.

4. What’s the benefit when employees bring their hearts and minds to work?

At Limeade, we define engagement as a deep connection and sense of purpose at work that creates extra energy and commitment. And we know that companies with high engagement are:

78 percent more profitable

40 percent more productive

Have two times greater stock growth than their peers

They are also more productive, more innovative and stay at their organizations longer

When employees bring their whole selves to work — their ideas, fears, struggles and successes — they flourish. And when you invest in bringing your people’s hearts and minds to work, they invest in you. Whether it’s manager, team, leadership or culture support, when people feel supported by their employer, they’re 38 percent more engaged and 28 percent more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work. They’re also 17 percent more likely to still be there in a year.

At Limeade, the benefits of bringing the hearts and minds of our people to work are far and wide. One of the ways we do this at Limeade that I am the most proud of is how we have worked to make sure that we bring our culture to life in the day-to-day work. It’s not about a particular perk or cool thing that we offer (like a ping pong table). It’s about how we treat each other, how people feel valued and supported. This is the hard work that we continue to focus on and that is the most meaningful.

5. What does bringing hearts and minds to work mean to you?

I really love the concept of bringing both hearts and minds to work. I feel like my graduate school and career up to this point have really focused so much on the mind part. What I love is that the concept of the heart is now a more common concept in organizations — for companies to talk about authentically caring about people as people. And even talking about love and commitment at work. This evolution is so gratifying to me.

I think the future of work is going to be much more about the heart — organizations that can authentically care, commit and connect to employees are the places where people will want to work.